Ultimately the only way to break the impasse in Parliament and in the country is to give the British people the final say on whether to leave the EU with a deal or remain in the EU, writes Helen Hayes…
We’re now in late April and still part of the European Union despite Theresa May stating more than 100 times that the UK would leave the European Union on 29th March and then again on 12th April.
Theresa May could have handled things very differently, but instead of reaching out to a divided country to seek to heal the division and to compromise for the sake of bringing Leavers and Remainers together, she decided to negotiate with the European Union only on behalf of the far right of the Tory party – aiming for a hard Brexit defined by the right wing Tory European Research Group.
A hard Brexit would be a disaster for London and for the rest of the country. Currency speculators and the ultra-rich would have thrived, but life would be made incredibly tough for many local residents on low and middle incomes.
The Tories have wasted billions of pounds on preparations to leave the European Union with no deal, money that is desperately needed for our National Health Service, our schools, to tackle the housing crisis, reversing the Tories punitive welfare cuts and providing our local councils with the funds they need to meet the difficult demands placed on them every week. The uncertainty of Brexit is already damaging our economy, causing job losses in some parts of the country and bringing investment to a standstill.
I voted and strongly campaigned to Remain in 2016 and would do the same again now.
Theresa May has brought her deal to Parliament three times, and three times it has been rejected both by remainers and leavers alike.
We now have a breathing space until the end of October which gives time for Theresa May and the Tories to think again, and I hope that negotiations between Labour and the Tories will result in a better proposal to take back to the EU. But ultimately the only way to break the impasse in Parliament and in the country is to give the British people the final say on whether to leave the EU with a deal or remain in the EU with the deal we already have through a People’s Vote.